The Animal Council's Blog

A bright, cool Tuesday, December 19 was this year’s visit to the historic San Francisco SPCA’s holiday adoption windows at the downtown Macy’s where holiday marketing meets adoption outreach on the prime retail corner of Stockton and O’Farrell streets. The big display corner window again re-purposed the favorite purebred dog figures in the Santa’s cyber-workshop scene. The adoption windows were lively and interesting and the adoption count stood at 166. The really big surprise this year was an entirely new operation on the store’s 6th floor that much better showcased the SFSPCA as well as brought more customers to the store’s holiday department. Genius!

A third year of underground transit construction with Stockton Street becoming a low-key holiday street fair distracts from store windows but strikes a mood for something special.

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Anticipation, what’s in the windows? The hallmark corner window was again Santa’s North Pole operation combining navigational radar with handwritten lists of gifts to deliver. Santa was surrounded by helper elves and a crew of the favorite purebred dogs and one cat, just as loved as our own cherished holiday decorations.

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Now, for the adoption windows, one with 2 eight week old puppies of mysterious background and perhaps mischievous behavior, several kitten groups and a threesome of adult cats.

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Macy’s first floor near the main elevators has been the usual adoption area and “back room” of holding cages where prospective adopters can see additional pets, but there was a change this year. Head up to the 6th floor!

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Holiday Lane is the destination for a visit to Santa, those gifty kinds of gifts and special ornaments including the purebred dog ornaments. Only six days before Christmas, the ornaments were already 65% off and the best ones long gone.

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Back at SFSPCA’s 6th floor corner was a whole new retail experience starting in the corner with a visible bank of cages, empty at the time, and some chairs for waiting male companions. Moving on were 2 separate service desks with a view of SFSPCA’s own merchandise including a basketful of its own ornaments. The big white gazebo housed the Purina sponsored “Cuddle Experience.” People with children lined up for an opportunity for carefully supervised children to go inside the structure to meet and play with some kittens, a memorable holiday experience for the visitors and new to the Macy’s – SFSPCA collaboration. Note, the labor intensive Cuddle Experience had more limited operating hours than the adoption center.

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The 2017 SFSPCA Holiday Windows and much more began November 17 and run through Monday, January 1, 2018.

Union Square, Geary Street view from Macy’s, with the seasonal ice skating rink, an iconic place for generations of San Franciscans.